In recent years, the size and manufacturing cost of cameras have decreased dramatically. Modern devices are ultra-portable, allowing their incorporation into other systems such as cellular telephones and other multifunction devices. Consumers today can maintain near continuous access to cameras during daily routines without the effort of carrying a standalone system.
Despite these advances, cameras integrated into other mobile devices often lack the functionality of full-featured digital and film cameras. Zoom capability is one aspect in which the disparity is apparent between integrated devices and standalone cameras. Camera zooming apparatuses are often ill-suited to integration into portable equipment, as zoom function can require moving parts assemblies that are expensive, delicate and bulky. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop imaging zoom lenses that do not suffer from these drawbacks.